Signal failure delays could become complaint of the past as train company tests new cloud technology

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Train delays caused by signal failures could soon be a frustration of the past, as one of the UK’s leading train manufacturers trial new 'cloud' technology.

Siemens, which has 450 trains in service in the UK and recently won the contract to build new London Underground trains, hopes to move signalling to a digital space in 'the cloud' to reduce the chance of technical errors.

Signal failures are caused by power cuts or a blown fuse in the train track circuit. Between 2016 and 2017, there were 19,000 signal failure faults which caused delays of more than 100 minutes or more to a train service.

By removing computers and wires from the rail communication system, Siemens hope to avoid delays caused by broken or faulty equipment.

]Cloud-based technology could also allow train operators to predict and avoid delays and overcrowding by collecting passenger data and storing it in one place.

Mark Ferrer, the Operations Director for digital railways at Siemens told The Sunday Telegraph, said: "[Cloud technology is] just moving functionality and control from one place into another place - which is the cloud. What this gets you is the ability to have a greater level of analytics and prediction.

"It gives you a better level of prediction across the entire system so it can run more smoothly. It's about being able to predict what the future would look like in any given scenario too, for example increasing passenger demand.

“Really it's about taking the data out of the system, putting it into the cloud and using the data to improve capacity.”

The UK plans are in prototype stage, but Siemens has already put one rail line onto the cloud in Switzerland.

Mr Ferrer added: “Passenger use has gone up massively over the last 15 years, so if there is a failure of any part of the infrastructure, the impact of that failure is felt wider across the network.

"The capacity challenge we face in the industry is mammoth - we need more capacity."

It is also about reducing infrastructure, so there is less that can go wrong, and therefore fewer delays. He added: “The objective would be to cut down on the amount of infrastructure that we have. The more there is, there more there is to go wrong so if you reduce it there would be less to go wrong.”

Asked how soon we could see these prototypes become reality in the UK, Mr Ferrer said: "I don't know but in Swizerland we have taken the control centre from one line and put that onto the cloud. It does sit on the cloud. So it is doable."

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “In May we launched the new Digital Railway Strategy, which explains why modern forms of signalling and train control are required urgently to improve the passenger experience and bring down the operating costs of the network.”

They added that some signalling systems are still based on Victorian technology and need to become obsolete in the next 15 years.